I will eat breakfast. (I have decided to)
I won’t play soccer. (I have decided not to)Will you wake up early? (asking you to decide)

We use the present form for general information, such as fixed schedules. (This is more common – it is good to use simple sentences.)

Using will shows that the speaker is considering different possibilities. (In many situation this is also fine)

The bus arrives at 6:30. (fixed – this happens at this time)

The bus will arrive at 6:30. (maybe thinking about possible arrival times)

We use the present form to say what is generally true now.

We use will for predictions. We consider possibilities and say what we predict.

I live in England now. (general statement)
I don’t have children. (general statement)Do you live in an apartment? (general statement)

I‘ll become a professional footballer and live in England when I’m older. (a prediction)
I won’t have children. I can’t imagine being a parent. (a prediction)Will you still live in an apartment in 10 years’ time? (a prediction)

We can also predict the present:

She is at work now. (stating a fact – where she is)

She will be at work now. (thinking about possibilities and predicting where she is)

Will is also used with general statements: when we want to emphasize what someone generallydecides to do, or for general predictions that we expect to happen. (in general – not just one time in the future)

When there is something I don’t understand, Irelaxand think about it and it eventually makes more sense.

Accidents happen.

When there is something I don’t understand, I’ll relax and think about it and it’ll eventually make more sense.

Accidents will happen.

We use the present form to make basic statements about what is generally true.

We add will when there are other possibilities to think about.

Water boils at a lower temperature at a higher altitude. (expressing this as fact)

Water will boil at a lower temperature at a higher altitude. (expressing this as a fact that is another possibility to think about)

More information

About Real Grammar

Discover what the different parts of English grammar mean and why we use them in real life. Real Grammar presents key ideas and examples so you can move beyond the traditional memorized rules and make sense of English and use it the way a native speaker does.